Geppetto
by Abicion
Summary: Mami Izumi is a troubled young woman with a lot on her mind.


**_"And then Kratos pops in, because why not?"_**

_"Because he somehow survived the spaceship crash."_

**_"He survived, and has a thing for Elizabeth. And so he tries killing her, and she opens up the door, and the tentacle thing does more hentai stuff to Kratos."_**

- Miles and Noah Antwiler

* * *

_"Something evil's watching over you / Coming from the sky above, and there's nothing you can do."  
_

- Kal Swan

* * *

_"Most of those deaths were stupid and waaay too dependent on some hilariously overpowered bitch with a sword appearing out of nowhere in the last 30 seconds, but I want to see the untold story behind Possessed Computer Operator Suicide Girl With The Brain Squid Attached To Her Head-chan."_

- Abicion on Ga-Rei Zero on Cyberpunk'd on Puella Magi Madoka Magica on Neil Marshall's The Descent on Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

* * *

The screaming was always the most annoying part. Entering the command post had been easy enough, as both members of the human personnel were too busy coordinating their team on the front lines to notice a single Category D sliding across the floor behind their backs. When it leapt toward the shorter, seated target, the poor tactical operator didn't even know what hit her until it landed on the top of her head and shrouded her eyes with its tendrils. Now she was squealing at the top of her lungs as she clawed at her attacker's slimy membrane.

Her commander tried to help her to pry the fiend away, but even he couldn't overpower its obsessive grip. The ribbon the girl wore in the back of her hair made for an awkward fit, but it managed to wrap its tentacles over her ears while its lamprey fangs searched for weak points on her cranium.

A sudden wet crunching noise put an end to her resistance.

For all intents and purposes, any human being was a walking corpse the moment a Category D breached their skull, and the damage from that point forward was irreversible. Absorbing the sudden rush of blood like a thirsty sponge, it rooted itself directly into her brain and quickly gained control of her motor skills. It left the lower half of her face exposed only so she could continue to breathe and speak as she served as a host body, and it didn't hesitate to use its new advantage.

The commander was still desperately trying to save his assistant when the demon took over. It used its supernatural reflex to lunge with its human arms and steal the pistol from his holster. He staggered a few steps backward as he tried to reason with the beast.

"Mami, wai-..."

His life abruptly ended with a bullet between the eyes. The possessed girl grinned like a demented mannequin as her superior toppled to the floor of the command shelter. Half of its mission was complete.

Now that the human chain of command had been crippled, the creature leaned over the operator console to transmit a message. It couldn't wait to hear what was becoming of the rest of the team on the battlefield.

"This is the control center."

The sounds of slaughter coming from the other end of the radio made it clear the lead specter had just begun her own attack. A single panicked voice managed to break through the chaotic static.

"Mami, we need backup, NOW! There's a Category A out here! It already got Masaki and it's..."

The beast quickly scanned its host's memories and realized the voice belonged to the human named Toru. It cut his words off in a fit of impish giggling.

"You don't need to worry about that. Nothing can save you now."

The urgency in Toru's voice only continued to grow.

"What's wrong, Mami? What's going on over there?!"

The creature snickered again and pressed the barrel of the pistol into its own side, aiming at the temple of the human victim trapped underneath.

"We'll be waiting for you in the afterlife."

It almost expected what happened in the next few seconds. The fact it had taken its host alive meant the girl's original consciousness was probably still intact and remained a prisoner of her own mind. This would have made the systematic butchery of her team all the more traumatizing for her, and it was no surprise her internal monologue came pleading for mercy at the exact moment she was going to be sacrificed for the better of ghoulkind.

_"Please, no! I don't want to die like this!"_

Humans were always terrified of death. Even when it thoroughly surrounded them and (in this case) it had become an intimate companion in their conscious mind, they rarely took the realization their life was about to end very well. The entire reason this human team had been targeted for annihilation was due to Toru failing to accept mortality at a certain point in the past. It was a strange concept for the undead specter, and it took a moment to entertain the girl's closing argument.

_"Aww, but if I don't follow my orders I'm going to ruin the Mistress's fun. If it makes you feel any better, we're both going to have to bite it since we're sharing the same brain and I can't really move out of the way. Besides, if I let you live now, you'll have to watch me kill the rest of your friends with your own hands, and I know you already feel bad for being a naughty girl and blowing your chief's brains out. You don't really want to stick around for that, do you?"_

Sounds of Kudo's agonizing demise came through the command module speakers as an added incentive to help her change her mind. There was no hope left in her thoughts.

_"...shoot me..."_

The specter curled its host's mouth into a peaceful smile. It pushed the barrel further toward her temple, anxious to grant her request.

_"I knew you'd come around. You mortals really are depressing when things don't turn out the way you wanted, but I'll make sure you won't suffer for long."_

It used its human voice to tease Toru a final time, making sure the radio continued to broadcast so he would hear the gunshot.

"Join us soon, Toru!"

The demon pulled the trigger, and the world ended for both of them.


End file.
